Hosiery take-up and delivery apparatus



Feb. 11, 1969 T. H. BAIRD 3,426,552

' HOSiERY TAKE-UP AND'DELIVERY APPARATUS Filed April 10, 1967 4O r I 5 f I 2 f INV'ENTORI r TRUETTE: H. BAJRB 270. a H v I 20 ;F;-2 v w w w ATTDRNE Y5 United States Patent 3,426,552 HOSIERY TAKE-UP AND DELIVERY APPARATUS Truette H. Baird, Valdese, N.C., assignor to Stevens Hosiery Division of J. P. Stevens & Co., Inc., Hickory, N.C., a corporation of Delaware Filed Apr. 10, 1967, Ser. No. 629,789 US. Cl. 66149 Int. Cl. D04b 27/34; B65g 53/06 7 Claims ABSTRACT OF THE DISCLOSURE This invention relates generally to a pneumatic take-up and delivery apparatus and more particularly to means for pneumatically conveying hosiery from circular knitting machines and to collection points.

It is well known to pneumatically convey hosiery from knitting machines to collection points or receptacles and to utilize pneumatic means for applying a downward takeup tension on the hose while it is being knit. In some of these pneumatic systems, the hosiery is conveyed from the individual machines and deposited in a main conveyor tube which transports the hosiery to a central collection point. The hosiery is usually inspected at the central collection point and when a defect is found, the corresponding machine is stopped for repair.

In other systems, the hosiery is withdrawn and deposited in an individual container or collector at each machine, from which the operator manually removes the same for inspection. With this individual collector system, the operator must move from machine to machine and collect the hosiery as fast as they are knit.

In either of these systems, a certain amount of mixing of the hosiery from different machines occurs. Since hosiery of various types, styles and sizes is usually knit by a group of machines, this mixing causes an increased work load during the further procesing and handling of the hosiery, such as sorting, sizing, pairing and packaging.

It has been found that this pairing and sorting problem can be substantially eliminated by collecting a large quantity (80-100 dozen pairs) of hosiery from a single machine and maintaining them together during the further processing and handling operations. To this end, a large collection container is provided at each machine and the hosiery is deposited therein as it is knit. However, the large collection container makes the inspection task more difiicult. For example, the knitter cannot easily determine which hose in the container was the last knit by the machine. Also, it is difiicult for the knitter to reach down into the lower portion of the large container to remove a hose, soon after an empty container has been placed at the machine.

With the foregoing in mind, it is an object of the present invention to provide a take-up and delivery apparatus for circular hosiery knitting machines and which includes meansfor temporarily retaining the last-knit hose in a convenient location so that it "may be easily removed by the operator for inspection, and if not removed by the operator before the next hose is knit, the hose will be carried on to the collection point.

It is another object of the present invention to provide a device for temporarily detaining the last-knit hose at a convenient location for removal, and which device can be economically manufactured and easily applied to existing hosiery take-up and delivery systems without requiring extensive modification of the existing pneumatic conveying system.

In the preferred embodiment of the present invention, the hosiery detaining means includes an enlarged detaining chamber which is interposed in a main transmission tube connected at one end to the knitting machine and terminating at a collection point where large groups of hosiery from the same knitting machine are collected together. First air pressure means is provided for moving a hose from the machine and into the detaining chamber, second air pressure means is provided for moving the hose from the detaining chamber and to the collection point, and control means is operated by the knitting machine to sequentially operate these air pressure means so that the hose remains in the detaining chamber for a predetermined length of time.

Some of the objects of the invention having been stated, other objects will appear as the description proceeds when taken in connection with the accompanying drawings, in which FIGURE 1 is an isometric view of a conventional type circular knitting machine and illustrating the hosiery detaining means of the present invention interposed in the pneumatic take-up and delivery tube which extends from the knitting machine to the collection container;

FIGURE 2 is an enlarged vertical sectional View through a fragmentary portion of the take-up and deliver tube to illustrate the configuration of the detaining chamber, being taken substantially along the line 2-2 in FIGURE 1; and

FIGURE 3 is an enlarged isometric view of the air pressure control valves, looking in the direction of the arrow 3 in FIGURE 1, and illustrating the manner in which they are operated by the pattern chain of the knitting machine.

The apparatus of the present invention is shown associated with a circular ladies hosiery knitting machine of the well known Singer-Fidelity four-feed type, broadly indicated at 10 in FIGURE 1. As shown in FIGURE 1, the hosiery knit by the machine 10 is successively conveyed to a relatively large collection can 11 which is adapted to hold a large quantity of hosiery, such as dozen. The knitting machine 10 is of a conventional construction and includes a needle cylinder 12 and a pneumatic take-up, broadly indicated at 13, which extends up into the needle cylinder 12 and applies downward tension on the hose as it is being knit. This take-up 13 is of conventional construction and is disclosed in detail in US. Patent No. 2,873,596.

A blower 14 supplies air under pressure to the take-up 13 through a main air pressure supply conduit 15. As knitting of the hose proceeds, the lower end is blown down into the upper end of a first section of a transmission tube 20 which is positioned directly beneath and spaced from the take-up device 13. This first section of the transmission tube 20 extends down inside the housing of the machine 10 and then up one side thereof. The upper end of the transmission tube 20 is normally provided with a relatively small receptacle into which the hose are blown. This receptacle is normally large enough to receive only a few hose and it is the usual practice for the operator to remove each hose from the receiver soon after it is received therein.

In accordance with the present invention, hosiery detaining means in the form of an enlarged chamber, broadly indicated at 22, is connected to the first section of the transmission tube and operates to temporarily detain successive hose therein as they are knit on the machine.

One end of a second section 20a of the transmission tube is connected to the exit end of the detaining chamber 22 and its other end terminates above the container 11 so that hosiery passing through the section a will be deposited therein. The chamber 22 is preferably formed of a cylindrical body 24 which is illustrated as being of the same diameter throughout and as being larger in cross-sectional area than the cross-sectional area of the adjacent portions of the transmission tube sections 20, 20a entering and leaving the chamber. However, the chamber body 24 may be other than cylindrical and the crosssectional area may vary throughout its length, as long as the portion at the exit end is larger than the adjacent portion of the transmission tube.

The first and second sections 20, 20a of the transmission tube illustrated are 2 /2 inches in diameter. With this size tube it has been found that good results are obtained by using a detaining chamber having a cylindrical body diameter of 3% inches. Of course the invention is not limited to these dimensions, although best results are obtained when the diameter of the detaining chamber is at least 1 /2 times as large as the diameter of the transmission tube.

An access opening 25 is provided in the cylindrical body 24 and is spaced from the exit end 26 of the chamher. The exit end of the first section 20 of the transmission tube extends into the entrance end of the chamber 22 and through a spacer ring 27 having suitable air entrance openings 27a therein. The hose, indicated at H, is blown through the first section 20 of the transmission tube (by means to be presently described) and expands as it passes into the larger cross-sectional area of the chamber 22 so that it is blown against the exit end 26 and partially into the entrance end of the second section 20a of the transmission tube.

As the hose H passes the access opening 25, the air pressure which has been used to blow the hose into the chamber 22 will escape through the opening 25 so that the hose will remain in substantially the position shown in FIGURE 2, partially in the second section 20a of the transmission tube and partially within the chamber 22. In this detained position, the hose is easily accessible to the operator and it may be removed through the opening 25 and inspected, if desired. The hose H will remain in the position shown in FIGURE 2 for a predetermined period of time before it is blown through the second section 20a of the transmission tube and deposited in the container 11, if not removed by the operator.

First air pressure means is provided for moving the hose through the first section 20 of the transmission tube and into the detaining chamber 22. Second air pressure means is provided for withdrawing the hose from the chamber 22 and moving it through the second section 20a of the transmission tube so that it is deposited in the container 11. Suitable control means is provided for sequentially operating the first and second air pressure means in proper timed relationship to produce the desired results.

The air pressure control means is operated in timed relationship to operation of the knitting machine 10 by means of the main pattern chain 30, only a portion of which is shown in FIGURES 1 and 3. As is well known, the pattern chain 30 moves in a step-by-step manner and normally makes one complete cycle with the knitting of each hose. The chain 30 is shown passing over a drive sprocket 31 which is conventionally racked in a step-bystep manner.

The air pressure control means includes levers 32, 3? which are pivotally supported intermediate their ends on the frame of the machine 10 and have inclined cam ends that normally ride on opposite side portions of the pattern chain 30 (FIGURE 3). The other ends of the levers 32, 33 are adapted to engage and operate the valve stem portions of respective air pressure valves 34, 35, which are in turn supported on the frame of the machine 10. Air inlet lines 36, 37 are connected at one end to the inlet sides of the respective valves 34, 35 and are connected at the other end to the main air pressure supply conduit 15 (FIGURE 1).

The first air pressure means includes an air pressure line 38 which in connected at one end to the exit side of the valve 3 4. The other end of the line 38 is connected to the lower U-shaped portion of the first section 20 of the transmission tube 20 (FIGURE 1) and at a suitable location to blow the hose H up into the chamber 22 at the proper time. The second air pressure means includes an air pressure line 40 which is connected at one end to the exit side of the valve 35. The other end of the line 40 is connected to an elbow 20b in the second portion 20a of the transmission tube (FIGURE 2). The air pressure control means also includes spaced pattern lugs 42, 43 (FIGURE 3) on opposite sides of the pattern chain 30 and in alignment with the respective levers 32, 33,

Upon completion of the knitting of a hose, the takeup 13 deposits it down into the bottom of the Ushaped portion of the tube 20, substantially as shown in FIGURE 1. Soon after the hose reaches the lower portion of the tube 20, the pattern lug 42 will move beneath and raise the free end of the lever 32 to open the valve 34 so that air pressure will blow the hose H upwardly into the detaining chamber 22 and against the exit end 26-, substantially as shown in FIGURE 2. As the hose H moves to the position shown in FIGURE 2, the air pressure will pass out through the access opening 25. With continued movement of the pattern chain 30, the pattern lug 42 will move from beneath the lever 32 and valve 34 will close so that the air pressure to line 38 is cut oif.

The hose H will remain in the position shown in FIG- URE 2 until withdrawn therefrom. While the hose is in this position, the operator may remove the same by reaching into the opening 25 and withdrawing it therefrom so that it may be inspected for knitting defects. After inspection, the operator may place the hose in the container 11, if it is in a convenient location, or the hose may be placed back in the chamber 22. Thus, the last-knit hose is retained in an easily accessible position where it may be removed by the operator for a predetermined length of time. It is preferred that the hose remain in the chamber 22 until the knitting of the next hose is almost completed.

Prior to completion of the knitting of the next hose, the pattern lug 43 (FIGURE 3) on the pattern chain 30 will move beneath the lever 33 to open the valve 35 so that air under pressure will pass into the line 40. The air pressure in line 40 is discharged into the second portion 20a of the transmission tube so that the hose H is withdrawn from the exit end of the chamber 22 and blown through the tube to be deposited in the collection can 11, if the hose has not been removed by the operator.

The spacing of the lugs 42, 43 on the pattern chain 30 may be varied as desired, to control the length of time that the hose will remain accessible in the chamber 22. The transmission tube sections 20, 20a and the detaining chamber 22 are preferably formed of clear plastic so that it may be easily determined if a hose is present therein.

The length and shape of the sections of the transmission tube may be varied as desired to suit the requirements of the particular knitting machine and the arrangement of the machines in the mill. The amount of air pressure transmitted through the lines 38, 40 may be varied to properly move different types of hosiery through the transmission tube. For example, a greater amount of air pressure will be required to move heavier hosiery, such as support hose, and to move longer hose, such as those to be used in forming panty hose. In most cases, the inlet ends of the air lines 36, 37 (FIGURE 1) will not be connected to the conduit 15 but will be connected to a separate compressed air system in the mill where a higher air pressure is available (on the order of about pounds per square inch).

Although the present hosiery detaining device is shown associated with a single knitting machine, it is to be understood that the device may be used in a pneumatic collection system of the type wherein hosiery is collected from a plurality of circular knitting machines and delivered to a central collection point. The device of this invention is also adaptable to any of the well-known types of knitting machines, other than the particular type of machine disclosed in the drawing. The present device may also be utilized to temporarily detain articles other than hosiery as they are being pneumatically conveyed from locations other than knitting machines.

In the drawings and specification there has been set forth a preferred embodiment of the invention and although specific terms are employed, they are used in a generic and descriptive sense only, and not for purposes of limitation, the scope of the invention being defined in the claims.

I claim:

1. Apparatus for pneumatically conveying light textile articles from one location to a spaced second location, said apparatus comprising:

(a) a conduit extending between said locations and through which the articles may pass;

(b) a detaining and removal chamber interposed in said conduit and being of larger cross-sectional area than said conduit, said chamber including entrance and exit ends with axially aligned entrance and exit openings therein;

(c) means for providing a first conveying air current through said conduit from the first location to said chamber;

(d) means for providing a second conveying air current through said conduit from said chamber to the second location;

(e) means for interrupting the operation of said second conveying air current;

(f) restraining means in said chamber adapted to be engaged by and detain the textile article when the second conveying air current is interrupted;

(g) said restraining means including a restricted opening permitting passage of the textile article therethrough upon operation of the second conveying air current; and

(h) said chamber having an unrestricted coverless access opening therein permitting removal of a textile article temporarily detained in said chamber and permitting escape of the first conveying air current when the textile article engages said restraining means.

2. The combination of a circular knitting machine having pattern means, and an apparatus for pneumatically conveying hosiery from said circular knitting machine to a spaced collection point, said apparatus comprising:

(a) a transmission tube extending from said knitting machine to said collection point and through which hosiery may pass;

(b) hosiery detaining means interposed in said trans mission tube for temporarily retaining successive hose therein for a predetermined time interval, said detaining means including:

(1) an enlarged detaining chamber having axially aligned entrance and exit ends, the exit end having a larger cross-sectional area than the adjacent portion of said transmission tube leaving said chamber; and

(2) an unrestricted coverless opening spaced from the exit end of said chamber and being of sulficient size to permit manual removal of a hose therethrough;

(c) first air pressure means for moving a hose through said transmission tube and into said chamber against the exit end thereof, the air pressure moving the hose into said chamber escaping through the opening therein when the hose moves thereby;

(d) second air pressure means for withdrawing the hose from the exit end of said chamber and for moving the same through said transmission tube to said collection point; and

(e) control means for sequentially operating said first and second air pressure means whereby the hose may remain accessible in said detaining chamber a predetermined interval of time before being withdrawn therefrom by said second air pressure means.

3. An apparatus according to claim 2 wherein said detaining chamber is cylindrical and of the same diameter throughout its length.

4. An apparatus according to claim 3 wherein the diameter of said detaining chamber is at least one and one-half times as great as the diameter of the adjacent portions of said transmission tube at the entrance and exit ends thereof.

5. An apparatus according to claim 2 wherein said control means is operable by said pattern means and in timed relation to the operation of said knitting machine.

6. An apparatus according to claim 5 wherein said pattern means of said knitting machine includes a pattern chain continuously moved in a step-by-step manner and wherein said control means includes pattern lugs on said pattern chain, and a pair of air valves supported for operation by said pattern lugs and being operable to control the operation of said first and second air pressure means.

7. An apparatus according to claim 6 wherein said first air pressure means includes a first air line connected at one end to one of said air valves and connected at its other end to said transmission tube and in advance of said detaining chamber for directing air pressure toward said detaining chamber, and a second air line connected at one end to the other of said air valves and connected at its other end to said transmission tube and following said detaining chamber for directing air pressure in a direction away from said detaining chamber.

References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 2,934,378 4/1960 Gilbert 302-2 2,995,914 8/1961 Imboden.

EVON C. BLUNK, Primary Examiner. MATTHEW L. AJEMAN, Assistant Examiner.

U.S. Cl. X.R. 

